Denver Broncos officially place C.J. Anderson on IR

The Denver Broncos made it official and place running back C.J. Anderson on injured reserve.

The club announced it would be shelving Anderson for at least the rest of the regular season, if not the entirety of 2016, after the running back underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee Thursday. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter first reported the news.

Broncos have decided to officially place RB CJ Anderson on IR, per league source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 28, 2016

Anderson tweeted early Friday morning that the surgery was a success and that he was in good spirits.

With the designation, Anderson still could be back for a Denver playoff run, should the team make the post season. Each NFL team may activate one player a year from IR, but he must wait six weeks before returning to the practice field and eight to game action.

Denver has nine remaining regular season games, but Anderson still has hopes of a late-season comeback.

Was an amazing fun year all I can do is rest up get back for the playoffs and if not get back and grind 4 next season

— Cj Anderson (@cjandersonb22) October 28, 2016

The injury occurred during Anderson’s best rushing performance of the 2016 season, a 107-yard effort — the first 100-yard rushing game of the year by a Broncos running back.

Anderson injured himself on an 11-yard run to end the first quarter when he tried to cut to avoid Houston Texans cornerback A.J. Bouye. It’s a move the young rusher has made time and time before.

Same cut I’ve made 1000’s of times finish the game strong now have to attack this grind this chapter completely different I’m excited ready

— Cj Anderson (@cjandersonb22) October 28, 2016

With Anderson out, rookie Devontae Booker will likely step into the starting role, with running back Kapri Bibbs and fullback Andy Janovich in relief.

Head coach Gary Kubiak said Friday that both Bibbs and Booker have responded well in practice this week in stepping in for Anderson.

“They did really well. ‘Book’ has had a really good week. Kapri has had a really good week. Kapri has a lot of his plate because he is a special teams player, too,” Kubiak said. “Obviously we’re trying to prepare Juwan (Thompson), so we have some decisions to make there. They’ve had a good week.”

Thompson, who currently resides on the Broncos practice squad, would be the most likely candidate to fill the roster void in a pinch, 9News Broncos Insider Mike Klis told 104.3 The Fan on Thursday.

“You’ve got to get depth at that position. We all talk about how (running backs are) a dime a dozen until you lose one. And then it gets tough,” Klis said.

Klis said  general manager John Elway could look to make corresponding moves next week, ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline of 2 p.m. MT on Tuesday.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.